Raisin Township seeking solutions for road improvements

The estimated cost for making Raisin Township roads safe has risen to nearly $9.8 million. The harsh winter escalated the cost estimate from $8.3 million in 2013.

The $9.8 million estimate was given by the Lenawee County Road Commission during a meeting in early May with Raisin Township Supervisor Jay Cavanaugh and Bill Costick from Livonia-based engineering firm OHM. Costick’s firm has been retained by the township to help develop a plan of road repair and maintenance. The contract with OHM costs about $2,500.

After meeting with the road commission, Costick and Cavanaugh toured the township.

“We looked at every single road. He gave me an assessment on every one of the roads and he gave me an assessment on what the road improvements would cost,” Cavanaugh said. “After meeting with the road commission, he felt very comfortable that we are doing the right thing with the money we have.”

On April 18, the township board approved six road projects for 2014 at a cost of $197,000. The board also agreed to put together a long-term road maintenance plan.

On Monday, the board unanimously approved the formation of a citizens’ road committee to assist the township with formulating a plan of action and then educating residents on a proposal. The committee consists of township residents Jeremiah Johnson, Paul Smoke and Tom Mitchell.

Costick will take all of the data that has been accumulated about township roads and develop a series of options for the board and the road committee to review. The goal, Cavanaugh said, is to have a proposal to put before voters in November.

Cavanaugh said he expects to present a list of options to the board in June and would like to have a decision in July. He pointed out the two extreme plans — one is to do nothing and the other is to ask township residents for $10 million to fix the roads.

“I don’t see that as something we want to do,” Cavanaugh said. “But there is a lot of ground in the middle.”

Cavanaugh’s report to the board showed 27 percent of township roads in 2009 were rated in good condition. That dropped to 6 percent in 2011 and only 1 percent in 2014.On the flip side, 52 percent of township roads were deemed to be in poor condition in 2009. That went up to 58 percent 2011 and 67 percent in 2014.

Raisin Township has 46.3 miles of non-subdivision roads and 20.3 miles of subdivision streets.

Cavanaugh said in the previous 10 years, Raisin Township was last out of 22 Lenawee County townships in average annual spending on roads.

“We have been working on this for more than a year,” Trustee Deb Brousseau said. “It’s time to get this up and running.”